


Tale As Old As Time.

by Scottish_Jackalope



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Alcohol, Blood, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Smut, Fairy Tale Elements, Fantasy, Flirting, Fluff, Injury, Love, M/M, Major Illness, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Stockholm Syndrome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-05-05 07:10:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 18,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14612385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scottish_Jackalope/pseuds/Scottish_Jackalope
Summary: Link is slowly running out of options, but true love finds a way.





	1. Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a few different fairy tale stories.

Once upon a time, in a small village, a young man lived happily with his mother. They weren't rich nor poor but had the chance to have anything they desired. But the young man was happy, he didn't need money to make him complete. However, it was becoming his only choice, his mother was getting ill and cheap traditional medicine wasn't enough to cure her illness. He had to help her, anyway that he could, he had to help. She was his everything.

  
"Link! Link, sweetie!" he heard as his eyes weakly opened. He sat up and grunted as his bedroom door was slowly opened. He softly smiled at the woman stood looking at him. The day was already bright and lit his room a warm, light orange. It looked like a beautiful day outside, he could already hear the birds chirping, loudly.

  
She softly spoke "You need to get up, sweetie, I need you to take these to the school for me." in her hands was a box of old children's books that Link had originally wanted to keep and had persuaded her to keep them for several years. The promise was that his own children would have them, but they both knew that wouldn't be strictly true. He looked round before placing his glasses carefully on his face and sighed "I thought we were keeping those?".  
The smile quickly disappeared on her face as she quietly spoke "We can't keep them, sweetie. There's no space.". It wasn't that their house was small but their recent move meant that they had to downsize considerably. The reason for their move was because of his mothers sudden decline in health, they had to move to a house where everything that his mom would need was downstairs, his room was the only room upstairs they actually used. He nodded and stood up to get dressed.

  
His door was shut with a gentle click before he stood to find a pair of trousers and a grey shirt to put on. He smiled at his reflection as he put a small amount of product in his hair, making him have 'wings' as he would tell people, finishing his boyish look. He did look good.

  
The house was cluttered with things they had both forgotten about, boxes piled high in every room begging to be sorted, his mother had planned a cleaning out for months and was finally feeling well enough to sort through several boxes, but they both knew that she was struggling, but she continued none the less. She had a tendency to tidy, as did Link. They loved to have everything organised.

  
Link walked in to see her lifting three boxes at once to the table, he sighed loudly. She dropped them down, with a grunt, on the oak table before taking a seat next to them to sort through the junk, the boxes were filed with more books. He smiled at her and said a quick goodbye before lifting the box of books out of the door, which slammed shut by accident.

  
He began walking down the cobbled street with houses on either side, saying hello to several people as they walked by, everyone knew Link, it was a small village after all. He was happy that they did too, he loved talking to people.

  
The cobbled road was difficult to walk on and was made even worse by the strain of carrying the heavy books. He grunted as he felt the box slip from his hands. He continued clumsily walking and sighed a breath of relief as the school came into sight.

  
Suddenly, the box slipped from his grip and crashed onto the floor. He jumped back, narrowly avoiding his feet getting crushed, and stared at the mess he had made in the middle of the street. He grunted as he scrambled to get the books back in the box.

  
That's when he felt a warm hand touch his shoulder. He looked up at the prince who stood tall, it wasn't unusual for him to visit. He had moved to the town what seemed like a long time ago but Link remembered a brief time before the king had decided to occupy a small house, renovating it to become a castle. Prince James had always showed a fascination with Link, ever since the first time that he had seen him.

  
He looked back at the mess and rolled his eyes, the prince had always liked Link and constantly tried to get with him, promising riches and anything he could ever want, the promise of medication was tempting him more everyday but he was happy to try other things first before giving up his happiness because that wasn't Link, he wanted real love. He continued his work but soon the other man came into view and sat picking up books.

  
He chuckled "God, how old are these?!". Link ignored his question and carried on placing the books back in the box. The man stared at Link and whispered "So sugar, have you thought any more about my offer?". Link sighed and picked the box up. He began to quickly walk but the prince easily caught up. Link grunted "I've said no before, your highness. It hasn't changed and it won't.". The prince stopped walking and nodded before going to sit on a near by bench, it made a slight creak as he rested on it. Link heard distant voices, not so quietly, whispering "Why would Link not accept his offer. Just look at him!". He sighed as he attempted to run to the school.

  
He walked in and smiled at all the artwork by the children. As he was walking down the hallway, still admiring the work he heard a soft voice shout "Link!". He looked round and smiled at the young girl running towards him. He smiled and tried to wave.

  
She walked with him to the library so that he could put the box down before she excitedly asked "Are you reading a story again?! Like always? Please, Link!". Link smiled widely at the girl before looking at the teacher and asking softly "Can I?".  
The much older teacher smiled and handed him a random book to read before walking away to find her class. Meanwhile, Link sat in the corner and flicked through the book, it was fairly familiar and so he was more than happy to read it.

He smiled as a familiar class filtered into the library and eagerly sat down to listen to the story. It was becoming more of an occasion and they all seemed to enjoy it. Link sat and read to the twenty children listening happily.

  
He finished the short children's book and sat back, smiling. Half of the children were asleep, earning light chuckles from the teacher. The other children carefully woke them up whilst Link gave the book to the teacher, who was stood at the desk, sorting through the box of books Link had given them.  
"Thank you, Link. They really love it when you come along.". She smiled as she gathered the class to take them to lunch. They each waved to Link as they walked out, saying their thanks.

  
Link sighed before slowly strolling out of his old school smiling. He loved going there, no matter what mood he was in it made him happier, he loved children and wanted his own as well as to teach classes but couldn't in his current situation, of course.

  
He cheerfully walked home and in his house to find his mother packing things in a backpack. He questioned her softly "What're you doing?".  
She smiled up at him before kindly replying "I need to go get medicine from the town across, and see your gran.".  
He frowned and spoke "Can't I go instead, it's a long walk and you've been busy today.". She shrugged and started smirking as she nodded quickly before passing the backpack over to her son. He took a quick look inside and found a packed lunch and some cakes. He smiled as his mother softly spoke "It's peanut butter in the sandwiches, I was kind of hoping you'd go.". Link smiled at her and gave her a hug before she kissed his cheek. As he was leaving he spoke "All you have to do is ask.". She smiled and kissed his cheek again before she gently closed the door behind him, watching him cautiously down the road.

  
It wasn't far to the other town and it gave him a good excuse to see his gran, who he hadn't seen for a long time. It was a beautiful walk to the next town as well, it was covered in trees and bushes along a narrow, gravel path. It took an hour of walking to get to the town but Link enjoyed hiking. It wasn't a difficult walk, but the warm day was starting to tire him out.

  
The town was just as pretty as his home, all places close by looked incredibly similar in the structure and buildings. He softly smiled to himself as he headed towards the pharmacy. It wasn't very big but their stock was much larger than the one in his home village.He walked in to see a short woman stood at the counter. She looked bored but was gorgeous, with her short black hair in a long bob. She looked up to see him looking around, awkwardly.

  
She smiled and spoke up "Looking for something in particular?".  
"Actually, yeah. I heard there was this here?". He gently handed over a piece of paper that his mother had wrote the name of the medicine on. The woman softly smiled before answering "Yes, we have those, new in. I'll just go and get them.".

  
Link stood patiently looking around at all of the medication on the shelves. His eyes got caught on a specific box. He sighed as he remembered the conversation with his mother two months ago:  
" _But don't you want kids, that's your passion, sweetie."_  
_"I know but, I can't be with a woman, mom. It's just not me. I can't."_  
_"I know..."_  
_"Anyway, there are other ways around it, I can still have children."_  
She gave him a short nod before going to her room.  
They never spoke about it again after that night. He felt bad, of course he did. 

He sighed as he was knocked out of his thoughts by the woman coming back with a small box of tablets. She smiled at him before speaking "Give everyday for a month and see if symptoms improve. If any allergies are affected, stop taking straight away. Sorry about the news. I hope these help.".

  
He smiled at her, as he put the box in his bag and set out to his grans. It was a short walk there. Her house was beautiful, covered in natural flowers but kept neat by her. There was a wooden gate that he remembers putting up one warm summer when he was young. He walked in and up to the front door before doing three knocks in a short pattern, a family code.

  
The door slowly opened to reveal an elderly lady. As soon as she noticed it was Link, she hugged him tight and screamed "Oh Link! Sweetie, I haven't seen you in ages!". He smiled and hugged her back. They stayed in the embrace for a while, it had been a long time.

  
When she stood back, she welcomed him inside. Her house was beautifully organised. His eyes were immediately drawn to the book case filled with hundreds of books. He looked through them quickly before taking a seat at the dinning table. She sat across and a huge smile spread across her face as he revealed the cakes his mother had made.  
She stood and quickly made tea before bringing two plates in, ready for the cakes. She sat back down and handed a cup and plate to Link. He took part of the cake and began happily eating, looking through a book as they ate in silence.

  
His gran soon spoke up "So have you found the lucky lady yet, Link?". Link shook his head before taking a sip of tea. He quickly changed the topic and spoke "If you ever need any work done around here, just let me know.". She smiled at him before nodding.

  
Their afternoon tea was short and quiet, partly because of Links need to get out from the fear of having to explain to her that he wasn't into women. It was still a pleasant time, making Link wish that he had more opportunities to visit, but he didn't like leaving his mother alone and so felt as though he couldn't go out a lot.

  
However, he still left the house happy and embarked back home. It was getting pretty late so he quickly jogged home, cutting the destination time by half.

  
By the time he got home he was exhausted. He walked in his home to find his mother asleep on the couch. He got a thick blanket and carefully draped it over her body. He smiled and kissed her forehead before putting the medication on the table carefully and grabbing a small snack to eat.

  
He walked into his room and sighed, quickly eating his sandwich before lying in his bed. He did feel pretty lonely. His mother was his everything but he felt as though he needed someone to hold at night and care for him. He abandoned the feeling and stripped down before getting into his comfy bed.

  
He removed his glasses before feeling sleep quickly drag him into a warm state of unconsciousness.


	2. Complications

Link woke up to a gentle knock on his door. He sat up and wrapped himself up in his dressing gown before he stumbled to the door and opening it.

  
He smiled at the blurry outline of his mother. She whispered "I need you to go to the shop for me, if that's okay?". Link nodded and gently closed his door. He clumsily found his glasses and clean clothes to wear. He got dressed before walking downstairs and into the conjoined kitchen and dining room.

  
His mom was sat reading a book at the table as he sat across from her. His breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast was already set up so he began eating as she softly spoke "Could you go get the grocery's today, sweetie?". Link nodded as he finished his toast.

  
He placed his plate in the bowl of warm water before walking out the door to go to the shop. As he was walking he noticed the prince once again approach him. He sighed and walked a little faster trying to get as far away as he could before he was approached.

  
The prince was persistent though and kept up with his speed. He was comfortably walking next to the younger man when he began to speak "Changed your mind yet, cutie?".  
Link scoffed and grunted "You are very persistent.".

  
Link stumbled slightly and found a strong hand around his waist. He roughly shoved the hand off of him and continued walking quickly away, barely keeping his temper at bay.

  
The prince smirked and waited as he watched Link all but run away, he quickly walked back to Links house. He walked in to find his father sat quietly with Links mother. They stared at each other.

  
Link on the other hand was walking around the shop buying the essentials that he knew they needed. He enjoyed doing little tasks like this for his mom, it was relaxing, almost therapeutic, to him. He often took a mental stock every time he got something to eat so that he knew what they needed without the need of a list. He liked to be organised.  
He had bought everything that they needed and was walking back up to his house when he saw the king and his men ride on horse back past him. Link stared as they galloped away but ignored it and continued back to his home.

  
He walked in to see his mom sat where she was when he left. He began putting the food away when he heard a soft voice speak "Have you ever thought about being with the prince?". Link spun around too quickly, almost dropping what he was holding and tripping over his own feet. He stared at her as he began to piece what had happened together. He sighed before mumbling "No thanks..". He looked around and continued his job of putting the groceries away in there rightful places.

  
His mom knew well enough not to prod and try to find out more but they had given her an ultimatum. She didn't know what to do.

  
Link finished his jobs as quickly as he could and all but ran to his room. He shut his bedroom door making it slam a little louder than he had anticipated. He was frustrated to say the least.

  
He had been led in silence for a while when he heard a gentle knock on his door, he called out before the door opened quietly. His mom stood in the doorway and whispered "Sorry. Do you want a drink?". Link sighed and nodded before walking out with his mom. They sat and drank quietly. It was uncomfortable though but they never argued for a long amount of time. They were always there for each other and couldn't ignore the other one.

  
Link yawned and whispered "I'm going to go to bed.". He softly kissed her on the forehead before dragging his feet along the floor to his room and crawling into bed.

  
The night was short and when he woke up he didn't feel anymore awake than he did when he fell asleep. He led in bed for a while, staring at the ceiling, contemplating whether he should get up or not but he knew he had to. He sighed and rolled out of bed to put on his clothes.

  
Once he was dressed, he walked out and saw his mom reading the same book as the day before. He grabbed a cereal bar and took the opportunity to go out. He went to the school as he knew that would cheer him up.

  
He sat in the library waiting for a teacher to walk in. He found a book on the side and began reading the short fairy tale. He giggled to himself as he read the old fairy tale story. He was caught in his fantasy when he felt a firm hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see the librarian, softly smiling.

  
She softly spoke "I'm sorry, Link. The children aren't here today, they have a day off because of teacher training.". Link smiled and nodded before apologising. He took his time in walking out of the school, making sure to admire the art work again, as he always did.

  
As he was walking home he was abruptly stopped by the prince. He sighed loudly and stopped as the man obstructed his path.

  
Link whispered "Excuse me.". The man smiled and held his hand out. Link simply stared at the out stretched hand before trying to walk past him but he was stopped by a firm hand on his chest. The prince spoke "I heard your mother was ill.". Link sighed, avoiding eye contact and nodded. The prince continued "I can help. In the castle, the doctors are incredible.".

  
Link laughed and pushed past the man. He walked back to his home and knocked before entering.

  
He froze as he heard no movement. It was unusual for his mom to go out without saying anything or leaving a note. He looked around and began to panic as he couldn't find her. He searched the entire house and felt his stomach sink as there was no sight of her anywhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thankyou for reading, hope you enjoy and more to come next week <3  
> You can find my tumblr at: take-me-to-scottish-christmas :)


	3. Mess

The king had arrived moments after Link had left. The timing was unbelievable. The king was proud of it too, he knew his plan was clever but actually making it happen was something else. He smiled as he walked easily in as the door was unlocked, as always. Links mom had stood from her chair and bowed the best she could, it was clear that she was struggling, showing the king that perhaps this would be easier than he thought. He smirked but easily covered it by looking concerned instead.

  
He scanned the room and felt a wave of pity, their house was still a mess and they looked as if they struggled but the feeling soon left him. He wasn't a good man, he was selfish and only cared for his son and all his son wanted was Link, so that's what he was going to get. He knew that grief was the best way to get Link close to James.

  
He smiled and spoke "Thank you, you may stand. It's great to see you of course but I must voice my concern, please take a seat. As you may be aware, my son has shown interest in your son, and well has for a while and well i saw him heading out of town in a hurry, towards that old castle. I was worried but couldn't stop him. I truly tried".  
She quickly asked "Are you sure? He was suppose to be going to the shop, he's never been to the castle before, he knows better to stay away.".  
The king looked at his hands and sighed "I'm so sorry my dear. I couldn't ask him what was wrong, he was moving too fast, he seemed angry.".

  
His moms face dropped as she looked around and immediatley started to pack for a trip to the castle in search of her son. The king smirked to himself as she frantically packed essentials. Running around the house to find everything that she might need, he even helped her pack to speed up the process in hope of getting her to leave quicker.  
This was all part of a plan of course. He strongly spoke "I will give you a horse for your travels as a helping hand. I hope you find him and one day we become family, as we should.".

  
He patiently stood as she quickly thanked him before running out of the house. She took the horse, weakly climbing upon him, but trying her best to get on by herself. The concern was more powerful than her pain as she quickly began to ride him towards the abandoned town. The skirt of her dress flowed in the wind as the horse galloped away. Her backpack roughly hit her back repeatedly as she rushed to the abandoned town.

  
The king watched as the old woman rode towards the castle, nobody ever came back from the abandoned town. The rumors were true. She was quickly out of sight by the time that he noticed his son run down the road and saw Link. He quickly ordered his men to head back. He followed and watched as Link continued to his house, calmly. The king picked his son up from down the road and headed back to the royal household.

\--

Link was frantic as he searched the house for any clues as to where his mom may have gone. But he found nothing. Nothing.

The only things he found was some of the food that he had bought was gone, as well as certain ornaments knocked over and out of place. He put his mind to rest and tried to imagine that she had just gone to see his gran but the longer he waited the more he realised that she should be back and that she would have said before he had headed out. He also noticed that it appeared she had left in a rush.

  
She was always carefully when packing and the house was a mess, he knew that she would have picked the ornaments up as well as leaving a note. His mom knew that Link had a tendency to worry and so he knew she would have left some clue. But there wasn't one. He was confused and worried.

  
It was getting late quickly and he didn't know what to do but he assumed he was just overreacting, he often did. The darkness was crawling over the village, just as his anxiety was crawling up inside of him. He sat in her chair and fiddled with loose bits of skin around his nails, trying to calm his nerves, he was a fidgety person as it was.

                             
He debated going to his grans and seeing if she was there but the path was dangerous at night, due to thief's and he couldn't waste any time, by the time that he would get there it would be really late and if she wasn't there then he would have wasted up to two hours looking, when he could have found her somewhere else instead.

  
He considered asking his neighbors if they had seen anything but the couple were elderly and it was unlikely that she would have been looking out of the window at the exact time that his mother left. He sat and tried to calm his shaken nerves. He was an anxious person anyway and the situation was making him feel incredibly uneasy.

 


	4. Him

He was hideous. All of this, this curse all because he was selfish. All he wanted was to rule and live a happy life but how could he when he looked like this.

  
It had started off as a good deal. But now he was alone. Almost alone. All because of a stupid deal.

  
Nobody knew about him anymore though, there were only stories, rumors, legends. He lived alone. He had for years now, longer than he could really remember.

  
The curse was going to last forever, the dealer was one of the strongest in the land, and yet he was just a legend that created another legend. But he knew the truth, he knew that this wasn't a fairy tale story. This wasn't going to have a simple happy ending, not anymore. Not like it should have been.

  
Everything taken so quickly away from him because of a curse, people were terrified of him and so the town moved away, he was just surrounded by empty houses in the now abandoned town. Instead that new family were ruling, all because people were frightened to listen, they weren't even local but instead moved here. They easily showed power and so people followed them, listened to them, ruled by them.

  
He lowly growled to himself. This wasn't a rare thought, it occurred everyday. The curse constantly following him everywhere, no matter what he did it was stuck in the back of his mind. The thought of a happy life, taken so easily. Now, he was stuck like this.

  
He was fed up, but he couldn't escape the constant nightmare that followed him. A deal that couldn't be broken, that just left him alone in a town that was once populated by several cheerful people under a great leader, himself. Yet he had to make the deal and now it just left him alone, as if it was all a plan to start off with. He growled lowly. He knew it was likely that it was a set up, there were outside sources that wanted him off of the throne, wanted him gone... forgotten. Now he was.

  
He was knocked out of his thoughts by loud galloping outside. Where the town was abandoned the slightest sound caused an echo to spread through his castle. He stalked towards the window and carefully peered out to see an old woman on a horse, slowing down the closer that she got to his home.

  
He watched her cautiously as she climbed off the horse and walked towards his property. She looked up, admiring the ancient building. He sat in the dark and wasn't noticed by the frail woman. She quickly got closer, making sure to be careful.

  
He growled louder and sprinted downstairs to the front door as silently as he could, waiting for the attempt of her trying to open it. He patiently sat as he heard gentle footsteps up to his front door. There was a pause before he snarled and got closer to the door, pressing his ear to the heavy wooden door.

 


	5. The Beast

Links mother lightly knocked on the door, she tried the handle but it was obviously dead bolted shut. She stood patiently waiting, feeling anxious as to where her son had disappeared to, why would he ever come here. She was becoming impatient and so pushed against the door, but it was pointless. At that point she looked around, to see if there were any clues as to where her son could have gone.

  
Suddenly, she was knocked out of her thoughts by the door being flung open. It was pitch black inside and she couldn't see a thing.

  
Before she knew it, she had passed out.

  
All of a sudden, she woke up in a cell and felt confused most of all. She carefully stood and tried the gate but it was locked, panic soared through her as she wondered where her son may have been, she was less concerned about the fact that she was trapped, she just waned to know where Link was. He wasn't here so where else could he be, she let out an almost silent sob as horrific thoughts flooded her mind.

  
She looked around for a window or a way out but the concrete cell was solid, the only way out was the metal gate to the cell. She felt scared but her worry over her son was far greater. She wondered if he was even there and started considering that he may have been killed by whatever dragged her in the cell.

  
There was a loud noise, as if a door was being slammed shut making her sit in the corner trying to hide from whatever had put her in the cell to start off with.

Although all she saw was darkness.

  
\---

  
Link stood and decided he had to do something. He walked out of the house making sure to lock the door. He frantically knocked on the neighbours door. An elderly woman slowly opened the door and smiled, it quickly vanished as she saw the panicked look covering his face.

  
Link stumbled over his own words as he tried to talk "Do y-you, do you, have you seen my mother?".  
The woman's face dropped as she softly spoke "The king and prince was there, earlier, Link, but I don't know.".

  
Links face dropped. He quickly ran in the direction of the castle. He ran as fast as he could and felt anger build up the closer that he got, it wasn't that far away anyway so he got there fairly quickly. As he saw the prince stood, as if he was waiting for Link, he let out a loud noise, which was a mix between a growl, a scream and a grunt.

  
He slowed down as he approached the prince, who smirked in return. Link stopped and roughly growled "Where is my mother?".   
It was silent for a moment before the prince replied "It's your own fault, Link. She went to the old castle. I'll go get her but I'm sure you can imagine the consequences.".  
Link scoffed and looked behind the prince, trying to purposefully distract him. As the prince noticed and began to turn around, Link sprinted to the horse by the princes side, he was glad that there weren't any guards around to stop him as he climbed upon it and galloped as quickly as he could to the castle. He was terrified, there were rumours that it was occupied by a fierce beast.

  
He was getting closer to the castle and entered the abandoned town. He shivered at the sight of several empty houses and slowed the horse down. Link had never been through here before, it had always been forbidden to him, as well as to everyone else in the village making it look even more haunting by the fact all the houses were perfectly intact, as if people just got up and left one day.

  
The galloping echoed throughout the small town, that looked familiar to his own. Fear crept up as he saw the entrance to the castle. He looked around as he stopped the horse and jumped off.

  
As he walked up, he saw horses hoof prints in the mud by the gate. He guessed that it was the horse that his mom had took and relaxed a little bit. He walked through the gates and cautiously walked up to the front door.

  
Suddenly, a horse ran from the back, frightening Link. He jumped towards the door and tried to calm himself, taking deep breaths and letting them out slowly. He let out a deep breath before pushing the door trying to open it. But it was locked. He forced his body weight against it hoping that it would somehow budge open. His mom must have gone in there. He stood back and rolled up his sleeves.

  
As he was about to push on the door again, it opened. He stood back and gasped into the darkness.

  
\---  
  


He woke up in the same cell as his mom with a pounding headache. She was sat close to him softly stroking his hair. Link sat up and whined as he held his head.

  
He scanned the room and shivered at the sight. The room was fairly empty with only a bed, a bucket and a sink. It was completely concrete with metal bars holding them imprisoned.

  
Link stood and rested his hands on the cold bars, trying to see outside. He saw nothing so sat back down and whispered "What are you doing here?"  
His mother softly whispered "I thought that you came here in rebellion, I thought you were mad with me.". Link gave her a confused look before she continued talking quietly "The king said you came here.". Link sighed loudly and rolled his eyes but before he could talk back, a door slammed loudly.

  
They jumped back and Link instinctively wrapped his arm around his mom. A shadow crept along the wall, as they tried to calm their breathing.

  
Link gasped softly as he saw what could only be described as a beast, his body was covered in fur, he had cat-like features but a set of curved horns on his head. He stared at him as he clutched tighter to his mom. He took a deep breath before standing, keeping a safe distance from the creature. They stared at each other for a while before he weakly stammered "Wh-what do you want from us?".  
The creature let out a growl before mumbling "You shouldn't have come here..." it was quiet for a moment before he roughly growled "Why?!".  
Link stumbled back and almost tripped from the noise. He whispered "Please, just let my mom go.".

  
The creature stared past the trembling man, to the pale woman on the floor. He looked back up to the small man and growled "But you stay?". Link nodded and looked down at his hands, trying to still them.

  
The next thing that he heard was the gate opening. He looked up in shock at the exit. His mother stood and held his shoulder before whispering "Link... you don't have.." she was quickly cut off by Link hugging her tight, he softly whispered "I'll be okay, just go and get better, stay with gran, okay?". She stared at him and shook her head, he smiled and spoke again "Please, I'll be back, soon.". She sniffed and nodded as she walked out.

 

Link sat back on the floor as the gate shut. He watched as his mom followed the creature, he led her to the front door and gave her a horse. He wasn't evil after all.

  
He returned not long after and stared at the curled up man. He lowly spoke, making Link jump, "I want you to clean. If you try to escape.. just don't.". Link sat up and nodded before cautiously walking towards the exit. He shivered as he was followed into the main part of the house.

  
The house was giant, he started to have a sinking feeling as to the thought of only having a certain amount of time to clean but he budged the thought away and continued walking to where he had been told.

  
They arrived at a library room, causing Links face to light up, it was gigantic. He felt better but his anxiety rose, he knew that the creature was watching him but it felt like there was a thousand more eyes on him. He shivered.

  
He slowly turned around and whispered "The whole room?". The creature nodded and left as Link began to clean. He started dusting but kept getting distracted by the books often picking one up to read the back and flick through. It meant that he took almost double the amount of time that it should've.

  
As he cleaned the shelves that he could reach, he looked around and was glad to see a ladder, he knew that the higher shelves would be dustier so he climbed. However, he wasn't a huge fan of heights and began to feel nauseous.

  
He continued cleaning and turned around after hearing several light footsteps that couldn't have been the creatures. He felt scared. The footsteps occurred again so he looked around but saw nothing, sending another shiver through him. He roughly rubbed his eyes and assumed he was just hearing things so continued cleaning, the silence was deafening, he must have been hearing things.

  
Link looked down and saw that he was higher than he originally thought. He gasped before he lost his footing. Before he knew it he was falling, it felt as though time slowed down as he anticipated impact on the hard floor, he knew he was likely to break something.

  
He clenched his eyes shut tightly.

  
Link opened his eyes as he felt two strong arms cup him. The two arms were warm as they wrapped around his knees and under his back. He looked up at the creature and blushed slightly. He weakly whispered "Thankyou.".

  
The creature gently put him back on his feet before softly speaking "You don't have to do the top shelves.", he softly smiled and began to walk out leaving Link stood speechless.

  
It didn't take long before Link was taken back to his cell. He walked in obediently and sat on his bed. The creature disappeared but quickly returned with a plate of food.   
Link was astonished at how good the food looked and ended up tasting. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad. After eating he fell asleep with a full stomach.

  
\-----  
  


The creature dragged his feet up to his room and threw himself down. He didn't feel like eating.

  
Suddenly, there was a bright flash from behind him. The purple glow took a while to wear off, he knew what it was so didn't bother standing or even turning around. Instead he heard footsteps creeping around him. He looked up to see the man stood, silently.

  
He sighed and growled "What do you want, Rumple?".   
The man laughed before moving closer to the creature "Really, you don't know, deary?". He stared in confusion at the man dressed in mostly leather with gold chains hanging loosely from his pants. He giggled before speaking "Well, that boy you have got yourself there, he's a little special, Rhett.". He growled lowly, jumping to his feet before shouting "Don't call me that!". Rumple stood and held his ground, he knew he was stronger. They both did.

  
Rhett sat back down and nodded. Rumple continued talking "You like him, don't you?". He sighed loudly and shrugged before weakly speaking "Why do you care?". He heard a giggle again before the strong voice returned "Well, maybe you have something I want.".   
Rhett looked up in hope before asking "You can break the curse." Rumple simply nodded in return before walking away to the window, he stared out before speaking quietly "There is a problem though, deary.". Rhett looked up and softly questioned him, earning a reply of "Well, he has to kiss you, that breaks it, it's not all that simple. Magic never is.". Rhett sighed and nodded.

  
He looked round as he was about to speak, but the man was already gone. He cursed himself as he stood to look out of the window, his kingdom could be bought back all because of a simple kiss. He smiled softly and relaxed back into his chair.

  
He jumped slightly as he heard a soft voice, "That seems great, sir. We can be back to normal.". Rhett looked down at the duster, with gorgeous blue eyes and red lips. That was also part of the curse, he wasn't alone. It wasn't just him who was affected but all of the castle and anyone in the town that was close to him, personally. He smiled down at her and nodded.

  
He went to his king-size bed, lying comfortably before he happily fell asleep after thinking up a plan.


	6. Better

Link was woken up by the bright sun coming through the window opposite his cell, he rubbed his eyes and sat up to see the beast contently watching him. He softly gasped and weakly stammered "O-oh, hi.". The beast smiled and opened the gate. Link cautiously walked out and stared up at the giant, waiting for instructions.

  
The beast softly spoke "You can ease up. Don't be so tense, I won't hurt you.". Link nodded but avoided eye contact as he was spoken too. The beast quietly sighed as he led the small man to his study.

  
Link looked around at all the stuff and began tidying instinctively. He didn't mind that this was his life at least the food was good and his bed was adequate, as well as his love to clean things adding to the situation. He heard the beast leave and relaxed slightly as he began to dust the shelves.

  
He had been cleaning for what felt like ages when he came across a piece of paper. He assumed that he should be organising things as well as clean so carefully placed things neatly. He liked being organised and began enjoying himself a little, it was a sweet distraction. He smiled and continued sieving through various documents that he tried not to read. His eyes fell on a piece of old paper and looked around before reading it. He only had time to skim it before he heard a growl behind him "What are you doing?".  
He shot around and whimpered "I-I was just organising, I-I.."   
He was abruptly cut off by another low growl "Did you read them?". Link shook his head and quickly dropped the paper from his tight grip. The beast growled deeply "You did! Don't you ever read my things again!". Link nodded and stood straight trying to calm his breathing. The beast snarled and left. Link gasped and sat down before quietly sobbing. Rhett heard and froze in his path. He sighed and continued to walk away.

  
When he returned the room was perfectly organised and Link was stood dusting, he didn't look as happy as he did before. The beast did feel bad so softly spoke "Sorry.". Link jumped and looked round at the beast stood in the doorway. Link nodded but stayed quiet as he finished his work. The beast once again spoke up "I have an apology gift... i-if you want it.". Link carefully placed his cleaning gear in the box and cautiously walked up to the beast, he was more than frightened. He was met with a soft smile before he was led up a set of stairs that he had never been up.

  
He obediently followed him up to a closed door, which was slowly opened as the beast whispered "I thought that this would be nicer. Sorry I... sorry I shouted.". Links eyes lit up at the sight of a double bed, a mirror, a wardrobe, even an en-suite bathroom. He looked up and softly questioned "Really?". He was met by an enthusiastic nod. As he walked in, his eyes were drawn to a book on the bed. He smiled and turned to the beast before questioning him. He softly smiled and replied "I saw you looking at it.". Link smiled and sat down as his door was shut and locked.

  
He led on his bed and read the book he had been generously given. By the time that he was called for his supper, the book had been finished. He sat on his bed waiting but his food wasn't brought up. His stomach rumbled but luckily the door opened showing the beast, he covered the entire door frame making Link slightly shiver. He softly whispered "You can eat with me, if you like.". Link smiled softly and nodded.

  
He followed the beast into a dining room, feeling slightly uncomfortable. He hadn't gotten round to cleaning this room and it was obvious he hadn't. Despite this, they sat at the long dining table and began to eat the food, that was quickly getting cold because of the beast going to get Link.

  
The beast tentatively watched as Link ate his meal, which was far too big for him. He smiled as Link through himself back in his chair with an exaggerated sigh after attempting the mountain of food. They gently met each others eyes before Rhett softly spoke "Don't want dessert, then?". Link smiled and playfully shrugged earning a soft laugh.

  
The beast stood and took the almost empty plates away before getting a bowl of ice-cream. He returned from the kitchen, that was clearly off limits to Link and carefully placed the cold bowl of chocolate ice-cream in front of the smaller man. Link smiled and thanked him before digging in.

  
Rhett didn't have any, instead just watched Link enjoy it. Once he had finished, Rhett helped him up to his room, wanting to carry him rather than watch him struggle to walk from being so full. He lightly laughed as Link exaggerated his struggle. Link slowly walked into his room and whispered a soft "Thank you." before slightly blushing. Rhett smiled before locking the door. Link sighed as he heard the lock and sat on his bed. Rhett lingered outside for a few minutes before shaking his head and going to his study.

  
In the meantime, Link had stripped down to his boxers, he considered sleeping in his clothes before he realised that he wouldn't get cold with the several blankets draped over his bed. He got comfortable in his bed and quickly fell asleep as always.

  
Link moved around a lot and before he even fell asleep knew he was going to sleep better than he had been with the knowledge of all the extra space from having a double bed and a warm room. It filled him with an odd sense of happiness as he fell into sweet dreams.

  
The beast was sat downstairs, he didn't often drink in his current state but had needed one. He sat on the balcony, looking out over to the town across. He made small conversation with the duster and clock, that had both been previous staff of his. The town was highly lit up and easily distracted him. He gasped as he soon noticed big flakes of snow falling, a smile slowly spread across his face as he thought up a plan. 


	7. Bonding

Link woke up to the sound of his door being unlocked. As he realised the beast was coming in, he covered himself and blushed a light pink. He found his glasses quickly and placed them on himself so that he could see the beast.

  
He was met by an awkward stutter "O-oh s-sorry. I'll um... go.". Rhett began walking out of the door and sat behind it as he heard Link get up and get dressed. Once he was dressed, he lightly knocked on the door and was immediately met by Rhett stood in the doorway. Link quietly stammered "Sorry, I-I wasn't up..".  
"That's okay. The bed is a lot better, I guess." he lightly replied. Link nodded and was quickly led outside by the strong grip of the beast. Link was confused and tried to ask questions as he was dragged through the house to the back door. They walked out together into the thick snow.

  
Links face lit up as he looked around. It was beautiful. He walked around, lightly giggling as small flakes tickled his face. He walked up to a tree and smiled at the birds chirping, it was nice to be outside and he felt free again. The beast kept a safe distance, simply watching the small man walk around.

  
His eyes were suddenly caught on what he thought was a person but as his eyes focused he knew who it was. He lightly growled as Rumple walked around, staring at the beast.

  
Suddenly, he was thrown out of his thoughts by a fluffy snowball hitting the side of his face. He heard a soft giggle and turned to the source and saw the small man running behind a tree. He smiled and felt himself run towards the man. Link giggled and carried on running.

  
He felt safe so hid behind another tree. He covered his mouth to stop the giggles but gasped as he felt a snowball hit the back of his head. He turned in shock and stared at the beast grinning. Link giggled and chased after the beast, throwing as much snow at him. The beast was easily quicker.

  
Link chased him but soon lost the creature. He stood still looking around and was suddenly tackled to the ground. The beast dug snow onto his face making the small man giggle and try to push him off. The beast stood and helped Link up, who began to lightly shiver. Rhett softly spoke "Should we go in?" Link nodded and rubbed his arms trying to warm himself up.

  
They walked in to the much warmer house. Rhett stared at Link still shivering and completely soaked, his hair was flat against his head and his clothes was stuck to his slim figure. The beast softly spoke "Do you want to take a shower?". Link looked up in shock and began to speak but was stopped by the beast laughing and clearing up what he meant "Not together." he continued to laugh as Link joined in.

  
He showed the man to his personal shower and smiled as he left him to his own devices. He sat in his chair and watched the fire as he heard the shower run. Link relaxed as the warm water hit his skin, he let out a happy sigh as he was warmed up. He was happy to finally be able to clean himself too. He spent half an hour in the shower and got out. He got dressed and walked out to see the beast sat in a chair. He smiled at him before softly speaking "Thank you for today, it was fun.". The beast smiled back and stood to take Link to eat at the table.

  
They sat opposite each other and happily ate their simple pasta lunch. Link watched as the beast tried to eat delicately but he soon gave up and ate as he always did. The beast took their plates and returned to see Link stood softly waiting for him.

  
The beast lowly spoke "You can clean this room now.". Link nodded as he began to wipe down the sides. The beast left the room as Link continued. It wasn't as big as the library so Link assumed that it wouldn't take too long.

  
The beast soon returned but Link wasn't done, so he stood outside and watched the smaller man. He loved how precise he was and how gentle he was. Link felt eyes on him but ignored it.

  
Link had soon finished so turned to put the cleaning items away. He jumped when he saw the beast stood staring at him. He softly spoke "I'm done." Rhett nodded and sat down at the table, signaling the smaller man to join him. Link did and carefully spoke "What can I call you? I-if I need your attention.". The beast looked up in shock and stumbled over his words "Uhh, R-rhe... just beast will be fine.". Link looked down at his hands, he knew his name was Rhett, he remembered seeing on the old piece of paper.

  
Rhett noticed and whispered "My names Rhett. But I don't like being called that.". Link softly looked up and smiled. The beast noticed the instant change in the smaller mans mood. He smiled too before speaking "Do you want to have a drink? Maybe play a card game?". Link stared at the beast and nodded. After he was led to the beasts room, that he hadn't been in before, they sat on a couch, it was huge but they still had to sit closely together.

  
Link drank slowly, knowing that his body couldn't handle too much alcohol, while the beast drank quickly. They had a short game of poker. Link was getting a little bored and so suggested talking instead. They spent time talking about Links life and his mother, but he quickly got upset and looked away. Rhett noticed and softly put his hand on the tiny shoulder. Link sighed and whispered "It's okay. I better go to bed." he was feeling pretty sleepy anyway.

  
Rhett helped him up the stairs, he was pretty unsteady on his feet. Link collapsed onto his bed and immediately fell asleep, leaving the beast to gently tuck him in. He smiled at the small man and felt protective so sat outside his door.

  
He was glad that he did sit outside for a while because after an hour or so he heard a screeching whine of his name. He rushed inside to see Link led on his side. Rhett carefully sat next to Link. He continued to whine "I'm going to be sick. Rhett, help.". Rhett gingerly picked up the tiny body and carried him to the bathroom before settling him by the toilet. Link heaved but nothing came up causing Rhett to gently rub his back.

  
Link began to softly sob as he curled up in the warm arms. Rhett stared at the man and carefully shushed him as the sobbing softened into calm breathing. He was frightened to stand in case he woke the man so stayed as still as he could.

  
He gingerly moved against a wall and held the man as he fell asleep, he wanted to make sure the man was safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if there are any errors/plot holes! This is my first long fic <3


	8. Plan

Link woke up in the strong, warm arms. He weakly looked up and smiled at the beast asleep. Link gently nudged the beast, who had a tight grip around him, earning a grunt from him. Rhett slowly opened his eyes and immediately let go of the small man. Link slightly fell and looked up at the beast, who stood and walked out of the room.

  
Link stared at the door, feeling confused. He cautiously followed the beast, finding him in his study. The room was dark and he could barely see the creature. He softly spoke "You okay?". All that Link could see was the reflective green eyes of the creature as he looked round, letting out a low snarl as he turned away.

  
Link backed away and sighed as he walked closer. The creature had looked back forward and didn't notice Link slowly approaching him. He gingerly placed a hand on the soft shoulder and whispered "Rhett?", before the beast turned and stood, easily towering over Link.

  
Link walked backwards as the beast followed him. He hit a wall and looked up with fear in his eyes. The beast sighed and walked away. Link stood feeling confused and looked to where he had gone. Link sighed and sadly walked up to his room, laying in his bed, curled up, facing away from the door.

  
The beast heard the gentle shut of his door and sighed. He stood in his room as he heard a soft gentle voice, it came from the small duster. She softly spoke "Why did you do that?" the beast lowly growled and ignored her but she was persistent as she spoke again "You should see if he is okay..". The beast sighed, making a point of it as he left the room. He slowly dragged his feet up to the newly occupied room and knocked.

  
Link ignored it but the beast had short patience and walked in anyway. The small man stayed looking away, he felt hurt. Rhett weakly spoke "Sorry.". Link once again ignored him, earning his door being gently shut.

  
The beast returned with a couple of books and opened the door once again. He carefully sat next to the bed and pulled Link over onto his back by his hip. Link tried to protest but the beast easily pulled him over. He showed the smaller man the books and smiled. Link looked at the gift and softly gave a lope- sided smile. He whispered a gentle thanks before sitting up and grabbing a book to start to read. The beast stayed where he was and softly whispered "Are you hungry?", Link replied with a simple shake of his head.

  
The beast nodded and left the small man alone, leaving to go down to his room where he stood looking out of the window when he noticed a soft orange glow coming towards his town.

\---

Link's mother had been staying with her mom for almost a week, she had loosely explained where Link was but tried to miss certain details such as where he was in particular. When she decided to go back to her home to get her possessions, her mother stayed at home and cleaned.

  
She walked on her own back to her home. As she walked in, she gasped at the sight. All of her things had been broken and were scattered over the floor. She stared at the destruction that had occurred and looked around as to any hints of who had done this. She sighed and looked around for things that were still intact that she could take.

  
She looked through almost all of the house, taking things that would be able to fit in her rucksack, such as books and ornaments. She had been there for a little over an hour, as she needed to rest because, even though she was getting better, her health still wasn't great.

  
It felt like she had been there for ages when she heard a gentle knock at the door. She cautiously opened it to see her old neighbours. They gasped as she stood in the door frame before softly asking "You're back?".

  
Link's mom nodded before giving a confused look and whispered "What happened?".   
She softly replied "I-it was the kings men, I saw them walk in and heard a lot of noise...". Link mom's eyes narrowed as she nodded. 

The neighbours left her alone and she began to plot a plan, she couldn't just let them destroy all that she had, even if she had ended up being kidnapped by the beast.

  
It was getting late so she traipsed back to her mothers house. She stayed up most of the night plotting a plan against the king and his men.

  
When morning came, she was tired but she still went through with her plan. She rode a horse to the castle and to the kings astonishment, easily rode up to the front door. The king stood shocked and waited for the woman to approach him. He weakly stammered "Y-you're alive...". She scoffed and jumped off the black horse. She quickly walked up to the man and without holding back through a brutal punch.

  
The king fell to the ground as she was taken away. It was fairly obvious where Link was. She was thrown into a cell and left, they made sure that she had enough of everything to stay healthy so that she could see herself lose everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's late <3


	9. This is War

The soft orange glow grew closer causing the beast to slightly panic and run upstairs to Link. He ran as fast as he could, causing several things to fall over and break. There were multiple voices asking what was wrong but he had to warn Link first.

  
Link was sat reading his book when his door flew open. He jumped as the beast stalked towards him. His bright blue eyes stared up as the beast breathlessly whispered "I'm going to lock the door, if you hear noise just stay hear, okay?" Link looked confused but shakily nodded.

  
The beast stared at the small man for a while before shutting and locking his door. He carefully stalked downstairs and waited for any noises. His ears pricked up as he heard faint sounds crawling closer.

  
He jumped as a loud bang came from the stairs. The little duster walked closer and whispered "S-sir, there is a mob, w-why?". He lowly growled and ran upstairs to look out of the window. He froze at the sight of the frenzy of people.

  
As he ran downstairs to his workers, that took the form of objects that should be inanimate, he started to panic. He roughly shouted "We have to fight!" his workers nodded and set off to look for ways to attack.

  
Rhett lowly growled and ran upstairs once the workers were ready, they had the advantage of hiding after all and so patrolled downstairs. As soon as a boisterous noise began to repeatedly occur, they took their place and waited for the doors to pathetically collapse.

  
Rhett kept look out upstairs. He was cautious and hyper aware that Link was likely to find the source of the noise. He heard the door finally open and shivered as the noise of cries came from downstairs. Rhett watched the door for any intruders and was relieved to be mostly left alone.

  
\---

Link sat in his room and jumped up as he heard the loud noises. He dropped his book and ran to the door trying to get it to budge. He was quickly growing frustrated and screamed.

  
Suddenly, a purple cloud appeared behind him leaving the room in a relaxing violet colour. He turned around in shock and stared at the man that appeared. Link stepped back against the door as the skinny man softly spoke "Well, well, well, deary. I can get you out you know?". Link lightly shook.

  
The scream had luckily caught Rhett's attention, he rushed upstairs and opened the door. Link fell backwards falling into the beast. Rhett caught the man and stared at Rumple stood in the small mans room. He let out a low growl as Rumple disappeared.

  
Link stared around at Rhett and jumped forward when he heard a low growl "Did you make a deal?" Link shook his head frantically. Rhett snarled lightly and nodded as he calmed himself. He sighed and softly whispered "Please stay here, I'll leave the door unlocked but just stay here until it's quiet.". Link nodded and quickly buried his face into Rhett's chest, hugging him tightly. Rhett smiled and gently hugged the man back.

  
They stayed embraced for a while before the beast softly shut his door. Link listened to the fading footsteps, focusing on the subtle sound.

  
Rhett carried on downstairs, he was cautious but could tell that his team was doing a good job at holding the fiery army off. He peered around a corner and noticed that majority of the once angry mob had gone, fled. He sighed in relief and pounced upstairs to his window to see if they were leaving.

  
As he broke through his door, he was met by the barrel of a gun. He gasped and stood back but was followed by the gun. As his back hit a wall, he felt himself give in, until he remembered about Link, he couldn't leave him with his door unlocked. He would be taken.

  
Rhett let out a boisterous snarl, earning Links attention. He sat up and considered going down to help the beast. As he waited, he suddenly heard another loud growl. Immediately, he sprinted to where he assumed the noise came from. But Rhett wasn't there. He felt panic run through him as worry washed over him.

  
Rhett was squashed in a corner, unsure as to fight back or give in. He let out one last growl in hope to catch Links attention, he knew he wouldn't stay in his room. Luckily, Link was able to zone in on the sound and ran to the beasts office. He froze at the sight. The beast was huddled in the corner as a gun was pointed at him by the Prince. Link stared, being quiet as he hadn't been noticed yet.

  
Link crept around the room. He was quickly noticed by Rhett earning a noticeable relax in his shoulders. The prince noticed the beasts eyes focusing on something behind him so turned his head. As he noticed Link, he scoffed and moved the gun closer to Rhett's head until it was touching his soft fur. They stared at each other for a while before the beast made a low growl. Immediately, the prince turned to the beast, watching him to make sure he wouldn't attack. Link took the opportunity and sprinted towards the prince, tackling him to the ground. He fell with a loud thud and grunted as he hit the floor.

  
Link held the prince down long enough for Rhett to stand up. Quickly, Link was shoved off but by the time the prince stood he was once again knocked to the ground by the beast. He let out a vicious growl before swiping for the whimpering man. Link stood back and watched as Rhett began to attack the man. His screams filled the room making Link walk up to Rhett and stop him.

Rhett stood and stared at Link, he was panting hard and letting out a low long string of growls. He looked away and down at the shallowly breathing man. The beast turned to Link and softly spoke "Sorry, I just... got carried away.". Link stared up and nodded before lightly smiling and touching his arm. As Rhett was distracted he felt a sharp pain in his back. He let out a roar before spinning to see the prince holding a knife.

  
Rhett's eyes turned dark as he ran towards the prince, forcing him against a wall before dragging him to the window. He forced the man out of the open window, he was easily much stronger. Link ran over to Rhett, as they stared at the falling body. The prince hit the ground hard and the air turned silent as people rushed to help him. He was taken away by the mob, leaving the house almost empty.

  
Link softly spoke "Let me look at that.". 


	10. Stay

Rhett sighed and tried to look at the stab wound but couldn't, he weakly nodded and sat down. He relaxed slightly at the sound of his door being locked and looked away from Link, who followed him and tried to look at the wound. He quickly left but returned with a medic kit. He quietly shushed Rhett and attempted to clean the blood, he easily felt queasy but was worried about Rhett getting an infection so continued.

  
Rhett let out a soft growl as warm water was rubbed onto his damaged skin. Link carefully covered the wound with a white gaze before Rhett turned around. He smiled but it quickly faded at the sight of Link, he quickly asked "You okay?" but before Link could answer he fainted into Rhett's strong arms. He softly smiled and struggled to carry the light man to his bed.

  
Rhett sat next to Link as he led motionless. Link began to stir and weakly opened his eyes, he smirked as Rhett gently caressed his face. He softly spoke "You feeling okay?". Link smirked in return and weakly nodded, he still felt strange. He yawned and rolled onto his side, pulling Rhett close to him so that he could lie on his chest. Rhett softly smiled and relaxed as the small body began to fall asleep.

  
The night was long for Rhett, he didn't sleep at all, he couldn't. Link, on the other hand, slept the whole night, occasionally snuggling closer into the warm body.

  
When the morning came, Rhett was feeling worse for wear, his back was aching, he was tired, he was worried, everything. Link on the other hand was wide awake, feeling relaxed and pretty happy. The night had been one of the best nights sleeps he had ever had.

  
Rhett sat still as Link stretched up. He stared at Rhett and whispered "Did you not sleep?". Rhett shook his head and stared at the small man. He softly spoke "I don't know how we are going to get through this, Link...". The small man sat up and looked at the beast confused. Rhett continued "You have to go back.". Link stared and shook his head before roughly shouting his protest. He stood and stormed into his bathroom, sitting against the door, in order to make it so that it couldn't be opened.

  
Rhett sighed and weakly stood and tried to open the door but failed, he sighed "Come on, open up.". Link ignored him as he sulked on the floor. Rhett sat down against the door and whispered "What if they come again?". Link stayed silent. Rhett continued talking "They could just take you, hurt you. Link...". He stayed quiet as he slowly opened the door and stayed staring at the floor.

  
Rhett stood and gently touched Links arm. He sighed and walked past the beast but was stopped by a firm hand around his arm. Link stayed facing the same way as Rhett moved closer and wrapped his giant arms around him. Link closed his eyes and relaxed against the solid body.

  
They stayed embraced for a while before Link weakly spoke "I don't want to go...". Rhett gripped tighter and sighed. He whispered "I don't want..." he was cut off by Link turning in his arms. He smiled and snuggled into his chest. Rhett smiled softly "Stay.". Link looked up and smiled widely. Rhett stared down. As Link stared he felt different, he felt complete and happy. He slowly raised up and gently pressed a kiss to Rhett's cheek.


	11. Together

Link was suddenly thrown back by a invisible force, sending him onto his butt. He stared in fear as Rhett loudly growled. The familiar violet glow shot out of his mouth sending a veil of light around the room, but mostly focusing on the magically floating beast. Link watched as Rhett growled as the light became brighter and brighter. Link was blinded and shielded his eyes, turning his head.

  
The glow stayed for a few minutes causing Link to completely hide his face. Rhett continued growling and the light began to wear off slowly. Link cautiously looked up and gasped at the man led in the middle of the room. He quickly crawled over and whispered "Rhett?". He rolled the man over being careful not to see anything that would make him blush. He stared at the handsome, bearded man, with long wavy hair spread across the floor and softly smiled as soft green eyes opened.

  
Link smiled and whispered "Rhett?". He was met by a gentle smile and a small nod before he whispered back "Hi.". They stared at each other before Rhett sat up and forcefully kissed Link. He moved back and cautiously covered himself before whispering "You have no idea how long I wanted to do that.". Link smiled and blushed slightly while looking down, at an attempt to hide his face.

He took off his jumper and passed it to Rhett to cover himself, earning a light chuckle. Link softly spoke "You're human..." Rhett nodded before standing and helping Link up. He was still a lot taller than Link as well as being easily strong enough to still lift him.

  
They walked to Rhett's room, where he quickly got dressed behind a screen and put his hair up in a tight bun. He walked out to see Link sat patiently on his couch before offering him a drink. They began to have a drink together before Rhett began speaking "It was a curse, and you broke it. I don't really want to talk about everything, one day but not now. I just want to be with you like this. Do you still want..." he was immediately cut off by Link answering his question "Of course I do.". Rhett softly smiled and stared at the smaller man.

  
They drank and cuddled together for most of the night before Link asked "What now? We stay here in peace? What if they come back?". Rhett smiled and sighed before he pulled Link closer and planted a soft kiss on his forehead. He spoke "We have to go into the town and the people should recognize me and well I-I made a deal but we will be okay, there's no consequences really. I need you to meet some people too.". Link smiled and sat up before he was dragged downstairs.

  
He walked into the dining room and pulled Link in too. He stood astonished at all the people there. They all smiled and walked up to hug Rhett and greet Link. It was perfect, Link loved meeting people.

  
The night was full of light chatter and alcohol. Link was feeling pretty tired after a few hours and went to find Rhett through the crowded room, it was surprisingly easy however he stood out not only because of his enormous height but also because he was Rhett, a man he'd felt he had known for years. He found him quickly and hugged him tight around his waist before saying his goodnight.

Rhett stayed with his closest friends as Link wondered up to his room, stripping down to his boxers and curling up in his bed. He was unsure as to where he should be, the room was organised when he had moved in and didn't want to be taking someones bed, but he was so tired.

  
Rhett stayed down stairs and was met by the young woman that took the form of the duster during the curse, she softly touched his arm to catch his attention. He turned and hugged her before she spoke "He's the one.". Rhett smiled widely and nodded as she continued "I knew it, he's adorable.". She left and Rhett smiled, it was getting late so he said a quick goodnight to all his friends, they stayed up, it was good to be back.

  
Rhett walked up to Links room and found him lightly sleeping. He smiled and carefully got into bed next to him. Link woke up and rolled over in Rhett's arms, he smirked and whispered "Hey.". Rhett lightly laughed and slowly moved forward to kiss him. They moved together as Rhett carefully moved closer to Link. He gasped sharply at the new sudden contact and moved away before whispering "We shouldn't...maybe wait...this is still...". Rhett smiled before softly shushing him and kissed Link as he nodded and whispered "Whatever you want. We need to go into town tomorrow, okay?". Link nodded and sighed. This was still new to him and it felt fast but he needed the comfort, it had been an emotional day.

  
Rhett spooned Link as they fell asleep. The house grew silent as the night encased the town.

 


	12. Love

Link woke up to Rhett playfully kissing his neck, he rolled over and lightly kissed the larger man before whispering "We better get ready.". They helped each other up and got dressed, Rhett wore his smartest clothes making sure to wear things that would remind the people of who he was, Link wore a simple suit. They held hands as they walked out and to the next town, it wasn't very far and so they didn't mind walking.

  
Link was starting to get anxious and so gripped tighter to the warm hand. Rhett noticed and softly whispered "Don't worry, we got this.". Link gave a lope- sided smile and nodded.

  
As they entered the town, Link felt a suddenly proud. Rhett stood in the middle of the street and waited with Link by his side.

  
It was silent.

  
Rhett wrapped a tight arm around Links waist as a small silhouette came over the horizon. It was the king, not followed by his son or his men but instead on his own. Rhett felt his anger bubble up but remained calm as Link was rubbing soft small circles into his back.

  
They stood still as the king approached them and quietly spat "What do you want?"  
Rhett scoffed in reply "My kingdom back.".   
The king shook his head and began to beg "Anything but that, money? Medicine? Gold?". Rhett shook his head and stood his ground. He looked down at Link and sighed, he could see the man felt sorry for the king, "You can stay here, keep the castle, those who want to stay can but I want some of my people back in my town.". The king nodded and proceeded to hand them both bars of gold, already grateful, he didn't want to fight he knew he'd lose.

  
Within an hour the king had Rhett and Link stand before a crowd of everyone in the town, a wave of violet had spread through the town, waking many people up and suddenly reminding them of who Rhett was, the king explained the situation and was disappointed at the amount of people who chose to go back, Rhett smirked as the majority of people remembered and followed him back.

  
Rumple stood in the background observing, he was due his reward.

  
The service was short and Rhett led his people back, with Link by his side, to his almost perfect town, everything was the same.

  
Rhett couldn't have been happier, nor could Link. Rhett had planned a ceremony, for mostly them both but also to welcome everyone back.

  
A few hours before the ceremony Link went over to find his mother, she was luckily at his grans. He sat round for a while but hurried his mom to follow him back to the castle. The journey back didn't take long despite walking.

  
As they walked in, his mother froze at the winter decorations covering the once dusty room, she hardly recognized the place after her past visit. Link froze and stood astonished as he looked around at the people stood talking. He looked around and was happy to recognize the people surrounding him. His eyes quickly fell on Rhett, who soon approached him and greeted his mom.

  
Links mom smiled and softly gasped "What?!" he let out a soft laugh before nodding and hugging her gently. Link smiled and stared at Rhett as he met his mother properly. As they finished the short embrace, Rhett was quick to grab Links hand and carefully pull him into the middle of the hall. Everybody's eyes were immediately drawn to the two man as Rhett slowly got down on one knee.

Link softly gasped and smiled widely at the man before him. The room was silent and Rhett carefully got a box out of his pocket. Before Rhett could even say anything, Link was nodding wildly. Rhett giggled and jumped up, embracing the still smaller man in his arms as he gently kissed him. The room roared with cheering as they stood closely together.

  
The happy talking continued for hours before people slowly filtered out to their new but also old homes. Rhett and Link were left stood together as they gently cuddled. Link yawned and whispered "We better sleep, when are we going to get married?".

  
Rhett looked down at Link and softly smiled before he softly whispered "Next week? Sort everything out this week, shouldn't take too long." he was met by a happy nod and a warm body moving closer to him.

  
Rhett smiled and easily picked the smaller man up to take him to their room.

They quickly stripped down and cuddled up in bed, Rhett softly whispered "We can start planning tomorrow, baby." Link blushed at the nickname and softly giggled. They began to slowly drift off.

  
Link was fast asleep but Rhett was wide awake, he had started to fall asleep but was woke up by his own thoughts. He stared at the window and tensed up as a violet cloud appeared. Rhett gently got up and met Rumple on the porch.

Rumple smirked as he was handed a strand of each of their hair. He thanked Rhett and put the two hairs into a glass cylinder, a rose red cloud of smoke slowly poured out and created a heart shape above the entrance. Rhett watched in amazement as Rumple hid the glass. They shook hands and he left without a word.

  
Rhett got back into bed, slightly waking his fiance making him mumble before cuddling closer to the warmth. Rhett smiled softly and gently kissed his forehead.


	13. Organisation

The next week was full of planning, Link loved it of course, organising mostly the decorations and layout whereas Rhett sorted the ceremony order. It was a busy week with very few arguments despite both their natures to be in control.

  
The week of planning felt as though it both dragged and flew by. Link was getting anxious. He had been planning with his mom when he suddenly felt the urge to find Rhett. He quickly apologized to her and ran to find Rhett.

  
Rhett was in his room, writing. As he heard the door he hid his work and met the smaller shaking mans eyes before running to him. He looked down and quietly asked "Hey, what's wrong?". Link shrugged and moved closer to the large body. He sighed into the warm body before replying "Just needed to see you. Is this too quick?". Rhett smirked down and gently encased Links face with his hands before softly speaking "It feels right doesn't it?" Link nodded and smiled causing Rhett to kiss him.

  
He playfully pushed him away and giggled before going back down to his mom. She didn't ask anyway questions instead carried on with decorations.

  
She softly spoke "It's getting late, Link. See you in the morning.". He waved at her as she left to go home. Link jumped as he felt two hands on his shoulders, he turned and smiled up at Rhett.

They slowly made their way up to their room and led in bed. Rhett softly whispered "You don't seem happy...". Link sighed and rolled over to face his fiance, he softly spoke "Scared of all this, I've never been with anyone like this a-and we're getting married... so quick.".

  
Rhett smiled and kissed his forehead before speaking "You've been here a long time, and... I love you. You're not being forced into this, Link, you know that, right?".  
Link nodded and brokenly whispered "What if it falls apart?".   
Rhett held the smaller man tighter and whispered "It won't, this is real, baby.". Link giggled and looked up past the neatly cut beard.

  
They stared for a while before Rhett smirked as his hands shot down to the tiny waist, Link screamed as he was mercilessly tickled. He kicked slightly as the tickles continued. Rhett stopped and smiled "Better?" Link nodded and kissed Rhett's chin lightly before curling into the man. He fell asleep first as always. Leaving Rhett to watch him.

  
Link woke up smiling as Rhett covered his vision, he lightly giggled as Rhett happily announced "One more day!". Link kissed Rhett and got up to get ready for another day of organising.

His day was once again occupied with planning the last details with his mom, mostly putting names on tables as to where people were going to sit, it really did matter to him and so took most of the morning. They both knew it was going to be a massive turn out so put extra tables with no name tags on. Next was to arrange seating for the ceremony, the seats were going to be in a circle surrounding the happy couple.

  
Link was happy that he was keeping busy, he was starting to get anxious. Rhett on the other hand was busy setting Links room up for him to be on his own, he placed eight books on the bed with a loving note from himself and a bowl of sweets. He wanted Link to be happy and knew he was going to worry. The rest of Rhett's day was spent relaxing, everything was sorted on his part.

  
Link had finished his jobs and walked up stairs after saying bye to his mom. He met Rhett and smiled "Everything is done.". Rhett smiled and stood to tightly embrace his other half. He sighed and softly whispered "We don't have long, how about a walk?". Link nodded as he was led downstairs and out the front door.

  
They walked around the town but it was fairly small and they soon ended up back home.

  
Rhett smiled and softly kissed Links cheek before whispering "See you tomorrow, baby.". Link nodded and held Rhett tightly before they had to part.

The night was long for them both, Link couldn't even bring himself to read a book but instead led in the dark. He relaxed and soon fell asleep.


	14. Ceremony

Link woke up and smiled. He shivered as he looked at the time and quickly got dressed into his attire. He looked at himself in the skinny mirror, he did look good in his tight trousers and waist coat over a light pink shirt and tie. He looked cute, his glasses perfectly framing his face. He put on his final blue blazer and felt as though he was ready.

  
There was a knock on his door, knocking him out of his thoughts, and so he shouted a quick "Come in," as he continued to get ready. Rhett slowly walked in and stood staring.

Link slowly turned around expecting his mom but instead someone very different, the now familiar tall man dressed similar to him except for a different color waistcoat stood before him, he looked good, his hair was neatly up in a bun making Link stare for a little too long before softly gasping "What're you doing here?". Rhett smiled softly and continued to look over the smaller mans frame, admiring what was going to be his, he quietly spoke "I wanted to see you. You look incredible...".   
Link softly blushed and whispered "Not too bad yourself.".

  
Rhett slowly approached him and whispered "Come with me.". Link gently grabbed his hand and was led out of his room. He was carefully led down the stairs and outside. Rhett smirked and smiled widely before softly speaking "This is where I first saw you." he slowly pulled him back inside and dragged him down to the cell that was foreign and almost forgotten to Link, he continued talking "This is where I kept you until... I upset you and so I gave you a much nicer room, I really did feel bad. I'm sorry." he lightly chuckled along with Link, he carried on walking and took Link to the library "This is the first room you cleaned for me, and I remember how your face lit up at all the books," and then outside into the garden "This is where we played in the snow and I fell in love with you, and I felt as though I had known you for years.". He stared for a while before smiling and taking Link back in to the house. He stood outside the hall, where he had proposed and smiled softly before whispering "And this is where I proposed just past the doors and where we get married.". Link stared up and smiled, his lips quivering as he held back tears.

  
Links mom came round the corner and smiled at the two men. She lightly grabbed Links free hand. Rhett nodded and whispered "See you soon. I love you.". Link bit his lip and waved. He calmed his breathing as he watched Rhett disappear through the door.

  
They waited a few moments before walking in. The room was packed as suspected but all Link could focus on was Rhett. He slowly walked to the song and smiled as he finally got to his lover.

  
The ceremony was extremely traditional in the order and went smoothly. They were saying their vows and placing the ring on each others fingers when suddenly, James broke through the door, he was still severely bruised and wobbled when he walked. Rhett instinctively stood in front of Link, covering him from anything that could happen. Rhett stared at the man. James spat "Happy now?! Taken everything from me!". The room full of people all stared at him as he began to breakdown.

  
Rhett sighed "Get him out of here." his guard nodded and walked over to the ill man but froze when he shakily bought out a gun. Rhett gripped Link and completely covered his body. His hand was shaky as he locked eyes with Rhett. He pulled the trigger and the room screamed as it hit Rhett in his stomach, he stayed stood covering Link and shouted "Get him out!" letting a slight growl leave his mouth.

The guard immediately took him away, it wasn't as difficult as they had thought as after he shot he completely broke down, lying on the floor. He was quickly thrown him in a cell in the basement, sitting outside to watch him as he sobbed.

  
Rhett fell to the floor, hunched over as the wound began to bleed more. Link was immediately by his side as he began to stroke his face. Time slowed down as a doctor made his way through the crowded room. He rolled Rhett over and looked at the wound as fast as he could, he asked a friend to run and grab his tools.

  
Rhett led still staring at Link, he softly whispered "I love you.". Link smiled and nodded as he moved closer to Rhett and whispered "I love you too. You're going to be okay.".


	15. Helping Hand

Rhett woke up in his bed. He looked around but just saw his room. He sighed and sat up but a sudden sharp pain shot through his stomach, he gasped out in pain and looked at his wounded stomach. He sighed as the memories came back and accidentally let out a low growl. Link burst through the door and relaxed at the sight of Rhett smiling and finally awake, he had been passed out for the rest of the day after the quick surgery. He walked over and smiled softly at the man. Rhett sighed "Sorry.". Link looked confused at him so Rhett continued "You shouldn't have to look after me like this on our wedding night...". Link giggled and kissed Rhett softly before whispering "Don't be silly. We're married, that's all I wanted.". Rhett smiled and tightly held Links hand. Link giggled before softly whispering "Anyway the doctor said that should be fine in a week.". Rhett smiled softly, he knew he should be able to heal quickly.

  
Link walked out of the room and carried on with his day, Rhett was getting bored, this wasn't how he wanted to spend the first week of being married. He had to sleep alone and was alone most of the day. At night Link refused to sleep in his bed in case he rolled over, he was super active in his sleep after all, meaning that he could have easily hurt the injured man and during the day he had other things to sort out. He still liked to clean despite the fact that they now had their workers back to normal. Not only this but he also liked to go to the school and see his mom, he felt bad for being away from Rhett however.

  
The week was nice though, Link bought him his meals and spent as much time as he could with him. He also had to clean the wound everyday, which meant Rhett had to keep a close eye on him, he knew he was easily queasy, but it meant that they could spend a valuable few hours closely together, talking and joking. Link tried his best to make Rhett happy by gently tickling him and kissing him gently.

  
On day four of Rhett being kept in bed, Link walked in to clean the wound but Rhett was already up. Link stared at him but Rhett beat him to the question "I'm all better! Look," he lifted his shirt to show a clean, complete scar. Link stared in confusion. Rhett smirked and whispered "The doctor is close to Rumple, they have a deal and well I'm better.". Link smiled and hugged Rhett tightly, he had wanted to for so long. Rhett rested his chin on Links head and whispered "That means you're mom is better too.". Link looked up in shock.

  
Rhett quickly got dressed before they walked over to her house. She had prepared dinner so they stayed with her most of the day. Link was surprised at how much better she was, it was as if she was never ill, the house was in perfect arrangement, it was clean and tidy. Link felt happy and nostalgic but pushed it aside for now. They ate a roast dinner together making light conversation about the wedding, ignoring the incident, and their future together. They finished their food and sat around for a while continuing to talk before deciding to say goodbye before walking slowly back to their new home.

  
Rhett held the door open for Link and as he walked in he found James finally being taken away, he didn't ask questions as to where he was going, knowing that Rhett would get angry, he knew they were safe now. He walked upstairs to their shared room and fell onto the bed, he was full and felt exhausted after looking after the larger man for a few days. Rhett walked in slowly and smiled. He led next to the almost sleeping man and whispered "Can't have the whole bed tonight.". Link giggled and rolled onto his side so that Rhett could spoon him.

  
He grunted as he stood and got dressed, he got back into bed and soon fell asleep while Rhett hugged him tightly, it was nice to have a warmth against him again. He felt complete.


	16. Two halves of something big

Link woke up to gentle kisses on his neck, he mumbled and tried to move away but Rhett was relentless, he continued kissing and began to rub his hand along Links leg. Link tried to move away again earning a strong arm around his waist holding him still. Rhett hummed into his shoulder as he allowed his hand to roam. Link gasped and grabbed the hand inching closer to his crotch.

Rhett smirked and whispered "Shh, it'll be nice, baby.". Link rolled over in the arms and looked up before shakily nodding. Rhett moved to his lips slowly and began kissing him gently, making sure to take his time. Links eye brows furrowed as he heard a noise outside, Rhett noticed but continued his slow kissing, he was getting hard and really didn't want to stop. The noise occurred again making Link finally grunt and push Rhett away. Link whispered "We can't ignore that, let me go see what it was... please?". Rhett sighed but nodded, handing his husband his glasses before rolling out of bed, wrapping himself in his dressing gown, being careful to cover the problem in his boxers, and making his way out of the room. Link closely followed him. 

They approached the wooden back door and carefully opened it. Link walked out into the cold morning air and looked around. Protectively, Rhett followed closely, keeping a close eye on the smaller man. Link crouched slightly and gasped at what he saw. Within seconds Rhett was by his side unsure whether the gasp was of fear or joy. His eyes followed Links gaze as a smile spread across both of their faces. 

Link immediately moved forward and grabbed one of the curled up puppies hiding in the bush. He loudly whispered "Rhett, look! Can we keep them?". Without answering Rhett reached in and picked up the other puppy. He smiled and pulled Link closer. He softly spoke "Of course we can, sweetie.".

They quickly carried the puppies in, so that Rhett could get them checked over by one of the staff. 

The two man sat patiently. Link stood as the door opened and the two puppies ran in, he smiled widely and sat on the floor to give the two dogs a fuss. Rhett smiled at his husband and stood to go talk to Stevie, who had always had a special knowledge on animals. He gave her a questioning look before she began to talk "They're both little girls, ones a dachshund and the other is a Maltese... I think. They seem lovely. I'll go get food, toys, shampoo and treats for them." he thanked her before walking in to see Link softly giggling with the two girls. 

Link softly looked up and whispered "Aren't they gorgeous?". Rhett softly nodded and sat down next to his tiny husband, both still in their dressing gowns. Link lent on Rhett before softly whispering "What should we name them?". They sat in silence as the two dogs chased each other around.

Rhett suddenly spoke "What about Jade and Barbara?", he had pointed to the dachshund first and then the other, Link followed his finger and looked up smiling widely before nodding. 

As Stevie got back the two man were cuddled on the couch with the two dogs cuddled with them. She smiled and whispered "I got everything they need, I can give them baths for you after you take them for a walk? I checked they should be fine to go out." Rhett widely smiled and softly thanked her before she left. 

Link stretched slightly and whispered "Lets take them for a walk when they wake up, just round the town. Maybe pop in and see mum?" Rhett nodded and softly kissed him before snuggling back down. They began to doze off but was soon woke up by the dogs running around. They both brightly smiled before grabbing a dog each to put a collar and lead on. 

They ran up to quickly get dressed into something appropriate before taking the two dogs outside. It was warmer now as they walked slowly, allowing the dogs time to adjust to a different experience. 

They slowly walked but soon got to Links moms house, despite being stopped by several members of the public to stroke the dogs, she opened the door and happily exclaimed before picking each dog up. She fussed them and happily smiled before welcoming in the newlyweds for lunch. They sat and ate sandwiches together as the dogs excitedly ran around their feet. They didn't stay long and soon stood to leave, Sue picked the dogs up for one last fuss before handing the dogs back. She softly spoke "They are beautiful. Bring them back round soon,". They nodded before taking the dogs home.

They handed them to Stevie before making their way upstairs. Rhett fell onto the bed and sighed "That was lovely, but I'm tired now." he let out a slight chuckle before Link led next to him. Rhett looked at the time and exclaimed "It's time for food!". They made their way downstairs before sitting at the table to eat their supper. 

Once they had eaten their stew, the two puppies ran in looking clean, they both smiled. Link picked up Jade and hugged her tight as Rhett mirrored his actions with Barbara. 

They made their way upstairs and sat in Rhett's office and played with the dogs, playing fetch around the small room, they knew they needed to wear them out so carried on playing. After the dogs got slightly bored and stopped chasing the red toys as much, Rhett found a bag of treats and gave a few to Link before softly speaking "We need to train them too." he softly smiled and held a treat up high waiting for the white ball of fur to sit. Eventually she did and was rewarded. Jade observed and followed suit. Link turned to Rhett and softly spoke "I think Stevie has been helping with that too.".

After a while the dogs were sat still. They both smiled as the two dogs yawned several times. 

Rhett carried Barbara as Link carried Jade down the stairs and into the washing room where Stevie usually was. They found two baskets and placed a dog in each before waving and making their way upstairs. Link smiled and whispered "What a day.". He stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed. He was quickly followed by Rhett.

Link took off his glasses and relaxed his eyes. Rhett moved slowly closer to Link and kissed his cheek before raising up and kissing him forcefully on his lips. Link hummed and carefully put a hand on the broad chest. He heard a loud sigh before he quickly spoke "I'm sorry, come here.".  
Rhett was quick to reply "No, I'm sorry." he led down on his back and closed his eyes.   
"Hey don't be like that..."

He didn't get an answer so pushed further "Rhett, come on stop it.". Still no answer. He was starting to get frustrated so hit the giants chest with enough force to make the man open his eyes. He glared at the smaller man, making him slightly squirm. They sat in silence. Link staring down and Rhett staring at him. 

Rhett sighed "I'm sorry for being pushy. Lets just sleep, okay?".   
Link stared at him and softly smiled " That's not a good end to a day though is it? I'm just nervous... sorry.". Rhett stared softly before holding his lovers hand, he delicately whispered "We don't have to, really.". Link rolled his eyes and carefully lent down to kiss the bearded man.

Rhett hummed and gently pushed Link onto his back and stopped to lovingly look at the man before whispering "I love you so much.". Link smiled and wrapped both arms around the man, bringing him closer before carefully pulling him between his legs. Rhett sat back on his heels and stared at the blushing man. He gently rubbed the belly softly before disappearing, Link watched as the man reappeared. 

Rhett knelt and swallowed loudly before awkwardly approaching the subject, he took a deep breath and whispered "If you want to stop, please Link just say, okay? I love you.". The small man nodded and relaxed before kicking his boxers off and wiggling his hips. Rhett rolled his eyes but couldn't help smirking at the dork. 

Rhett stood and dropped his own boxers before settling beside Link. He gently put a hand around the back of Links neck and pulled him forward for a kiss. They began to get passionate as Rhett's hand carefully snaked down to Links growing erection. He gasped and dug his nails into Rhett's back. He hummed slightly and began thrusting his hips. Rhett smiled into the kiss before pulling away, he whispered "Keep your hand their, I won't be a moment.". Link nodded as he lazily stroked himself. Rhett moved around before settling between Links legs. He carefully pushed them open making Link blush more. He instinctively moved his hands to cover himself but Rhett was already there grabbing his wrists to move them. He smiled and whispered "You look beautiful, put your hands by your sides and relax okay? I love you.". Link nodded but stayed quiet, he felt anxious. He slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 

Rhett moved and grabbed Link to slowly take him into his mouth, earning a loud gasp and the man sitting up with wide eyes. Rhett stared at him and smiled around what was in his mouth. Link stared but slowly led back down as Rhett began to pull off. He didn't have to say he wanted him to lie down, Link knew. Link began to relax again as he felt a wet finger gently trace his hole. He tensed slightly but focused on the warm mouth helping him relax. Rhett was persistent and slowly pushed a single digit in before pulling off and whispering "Wow, Link! You're doing so well. Does it feel okay?". Link whined and gripped at the mattress before weakly stammering "T's- it's really good, Rhett, it's a lot but good. Feels good. Love y-you. Wa-want you.". Rhett smiled and slowly took him back into his mouth before adding a second finger to the tight hole. Link gasped but stayed relaxed. 

The preparation was long but Rhett wanted to be careful. Link was now sweating a lot and he weakly whispered "Rh-Rhett, baby, I can't take much more... you- you're gonna have to hurry, babe.". Rhett smiled and softly kissed Links belly. He removed the now three fingers and wiped them on a towel he had bought for that purpose, he quickly coated himself in lube and stared at the beautiful man as he got hard, it didn't take long. He softly spoke "You sure you're ready, baby?" Link nodded before Rhett continued talking "If you need me to-"  
Link chuckled and whispered "Just come on," Rhett smiled softly and led down to tightly hold Link. He lined himself up and began to slowly push, earning a rough grunt. Rhett forced his lips onto Links as he pushed harder. The kiss muffled the whines coming out of Link, he was digging his nails in trying to focus on anything but the pain. Rhett kissed him gently and held tighter, cradling the smaller man. They both pulled away and whined as he pushed past the tight ring. Link gasped and whispered "Oh god. Fuck, wait...". Rhett stayed still and affectionately stroked Links scrunched up face. He softly spoke "You look so beautiful, you feel amazing, I'm so proud of you and I'm so happy I can show you how much I love you. You're my everything, baby.". Link relaxed at the words and slowly opened his eyes to stare at the man looking softly down at him. 

They stayed still for a while before Link smiled and nodded. Rhett took the clue and began to slowly move. Link closed his eyes and tried to relax but it still hurt. He dug his nails into Rhett's back and moaned loudly as he hit his prostate. Rhett smirked and moved to aim for the same spot earning another strangled moan. Rhett roughly growled "Feel good?" Link gasped in reply and pulled Rhett down for a kiss. They began to whine into each others mouths before Link pulled away and pulled him to his neck, he weakly gasped "Rhett, I'm gonna... I'm gonna... fuck...". Rhett bit softly along his neck as he moved with more force into the sensitive spot. Links legs began to shake as he gripped tighter, Rhett lifted up to grab Link and began to roughly pump him. He suddenly let out a long, loud moan as he suddenly came, Rhett smirked and kissed the gasping mouth. He soon released himself and gently pulled out. He rolled onto his back gasping as they led in silence.

Link whispered "That hurt, real bad, but it felt so good, it was amazing. Rhett, I love you.".   
Rhett smiled softly and whispered "You did so well, Link. So well. I love you too.".

They led and recovered for a while in each others arms before Rhett helped Link to their en-suite for a shower. He carefully held Link up as the warm water ran down both of their bodies. He helped clean the sleepy man before drying him and carrying him to bed. He carefully placed the small man on his side of the bed, smiled and kissed the almost asleep mans forehead. He opened the door in case the dogs wanted to join them and led next to his husband, holding him tight in his arms. 

A while after they had been lightly sleeping, Link woke up instantly waking the giant next to him. He looked up and whispered "I want a baby...". Rhett looked down and sleepily whispered "What? Are you awake?"  
"Yes, I'm sorry, that was weird. I just... I know we can't but-"  
"Hey, no I'd love that too, I just wanted to check you knew what you were saying. We can always adopt, sweetie."  
"Well to be honest... I've looked with my mom. There's a three year old that has been there a while and..."  
"We can see, but that sounds perfect.".  
"Thankyou, her name is Lilly.".  
"Perfect. I love you. We can look soon. Make your old room perfect for her, toys, painted walls. Sounds incredible.". As if on queue the two dogs walked in and jumped on the bed. Link widely smiled and snuggled closer to the soft giant before whispering "Our perfect little family is almost complete. It's gonna be a lot of work with a three year old and two puppies but I can't wait. I love you so much."   
Rhett smiled widely and kissed the forehead on his shoulder before whispering "You are so amazing. I love you so much.".

Their love had never been stronger. This was perfection. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't really know how to end this but thought that it needed to. Sorry about the delay. Hope you enjoy :D <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thankyou for reading, hope you enjoy and more to come next week <3  
> You can find my tumblr at: take-me-to-scottish-christmas :)


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